Route control system



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April 28 1942 G. L. CAILLE 2,280,891

ROUTE CONTROL SYSTEM Filed April ll, 1940 l2 Sheets-Sheet l2 c 45125Z//e 41.2 4m C 2EP5 a B 4m C 2m ZAR c me 2A 4m C [ZV1/N703 eafgefoazf@da Patented Apr. 28, 1942 ROUTE CONTROL SYSTEM Georges Louis Caille,Vaujours, France, assigner, by mesne assignments, to The Union Switch &Signal Company, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation of PennsylvaniaApplication April 11, 1940, Serial No. 329,134 In France October 27,1939 17 Claims.

The present invention relates to railway signalling systems, and moreparticularly, to interlocking control systems of the type in which acomplete track route between two points of a railway track layout isestablished by a relatively simple operation Without special attentionby the signalman to the setting of the individual track switchesinvolved, and is a further development of the system described inLetters Patent of the United States No. 2,247,801, issued July 1, 1941,upon a United States application iiled July 26, 1939, by G. L. Cailleand A. P. Laze, for Signalling and interlocking system for trafficroutes, corresponding to the French application 440,503 of January 14,1939, hereinafter referred to as the main patent.

The present invention has for one of its objects to increase the safetyof the system described in the main patent and for this purposearrangements are, for example, provided in order to secure that theinitial control operation by which a route relay is picked up isterminated after a relatively short time, independently of whether ornot the signalman releases the control button or buttons which had to bepressed in order to establish a route.

The further objects of the invention comprise facilitating the operationof establishing traflic routes over the various tracks of a track layoutwhich is protected by entrance and exit signals.

A still further object is to facilitate the emergency control operationsif faulty condition of a track circuit necessitates temporarycancellation of the track circuit control of certain sections. Apartfrom that, arrangements will be described which permit the utilizationof the twobutton entrance-exit control f a route, that is to say anoperation according to which a route is set up by pressing two buttonsin succession, one button being associated with each point of thelay-out at which a route may begin or end.

In order that the further developments and improvements may be morereadily understood, particulars of the contemplated system will now bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: k

Figure l, `being identical with Figure 1 of the main patent, shows oneform of illuminated track diagram,

Figure 2 shows a suitable control panel provided with individual routebuttons P, which has also been shown in the main patent.

Figure 3, being identical with Figure 3 of the main patent, shows anemergency release panel ier effecting the emergency release of thedetector locking in the event of the failure of a track circuit.

Figure 4 shows a combined control panel and illuminated diagram for amodied system having so-called entrance-exit control.

Figure 5 shows a control panel of similar type provided with anon-illuminated track diagram which is particularly suitable for largeinstallations in which it would be inconvenient to distribute thecontrol buttons over an illuminated diagram.

Figure 6 shows in its upper portion, a track plan illustrating thearrangement of the tracks of the layout to be controlled, together withthe circuits for the track relays TR and repeating relays controlledthereby, and in its lower portion, the circuits for the switch controlrelays WR, the switch indication relays WP, and the switch lockingrelays LR., and is a modification of Figure 4 of the main patent.

Figure 'I shows the control of route relays R. and signal control orpreparation relays HR by the buttons P of Fig. 2, for a system in whichone button is provided for each route, and is a modification of Figure 5of the main patent.

Fig. 7A shows the circuit for `a slow-release relay PP for controllingthe circuits of Fig. '7.

Figure 8 may be considered as another modiiication of the same figure ofthe main patent and shows, ,together with Figures 8A and 8B, the controlof the route relays R and signal preparation relays HR by the buttons Pof Fig. 4 or 5, arranged for entrance-exit control in accordanceI withthe present invention.V 4

Figure 9 together with Figures 9A and 9B is a similar diagram of amodified form of the present invention. y

Figure 10, being a modication of Figure 6 of the main patent, shows thecontrol of the main signal clearing relays G and of the call-on signalrelays M.

Figure 11, being a modification of Figure 8 of the main patent, showsthe control of directiondetector relays ESK and WSK provided primarilyfor controlling the lighting ofthe illuminated track diagram, but alsoemployed for other purposes as hereinafter described.

Figure 12 is a modication of Figure 9 of the main patent and shows theapproach locking relays LS and auxiliary relays AS, together with theusual time element relays TE and stick relays TES associated therewith.

Figure 13 (modication of Figure 10 of the main patent), shows thecontrol of directional Section locking relays ES and WS.

Figures 14 and 15 (modification of Figure 11 of the main patent) showtwo forms of circuits for the emergency release relays A controlled bythe buttons AP of Fig. 3.

Figure 14 being intended for single-button route control, and

Figure 15 being intended for two-button entrance-exit control.

Figure 16 (identical with Figure 13 of the main patent) shows apparatusfor operating the track switches individually, comprising the normal andreverse switch stick relays NWS and RWS controlled by the buttons NP andRP of Figs. 2, 4 or 5.

Figure 17 (modification of Fig. 14 of the main patent) shows circuitsfor the call-on stick relays COS controlled by the buttons CP of Figs.2, 4 or 5.

Figures 18 and 19 (modifications of Figure 15 of the main patent) showthe control of the red and green signal-indication lamps for single andtwo-button route control respectively, these lamps being mounted at thecorresponding signal locations in the track diagrams of Figs'. 1 and 4.

Figure 20 (modification of Figure 16 of the main patent) shows thecontrol of the red and white lamps for illuminating the track portionsof Figs. 1 and 4.

Figure 21 (identical with Figure 17 of the 1 main patent) shows thecontrol for a relay E, by means oi which the switch indication lamps ofFig. 20 may be lighted to indicate the positions of the track switcheseven though no route is set up.

Figure 22 (identical with Figure 18 of the main patent) shows thelighting circuits for the various signals provided along the tracks ofFig. 6.

FigureY 23 (identical with Figure 19 of the main patent) shows theoperation of signal-atstop check relays GP and MP.

Figure 24 (sheet 8) shows direction-detector track-repeater control forpreventing release of the locking in the event of the imperfect shuntingof a track circuit.

Figure 25 illustrates the circuits for an installation includingnon-insulated track sections (together with Figures 25A-,- 25B, 25C)Where the application to single button or twobutton route-control is notmentioned, the circuits indicated in the figures are applicable toeither system.

The single-button route-control having been described in detail in themain patent, and the modifications applied thereto according to thepresent invention being relatively slight, the single-button controlwill not be described in detail, but reference is made to thecorresponding description in the main patent while certainldistinguishing features will be pointed out in the following, partlywhile describing the two-button control. Figures 1, 2 and 3 beingidentical with the corresponding iigures of the main patentdo notrequire any additional description.

If it is desired to control the operation according to the so-calledentrance-exit system the illuminated track diagram and panel illustratedin vFigures l and 2, respectively, are preferably replaced by a combinedilluminated track diagram and control panel as illustrated in Figure 4.It will be seen from this diagram that route-end buttons 2P, 4P, 6P, 8P,IUP and I2P are provided on the track diagram at various points at whicha route may begin or end, the diagram being further distinguished fromthat shown in Figure 1 by the addition of a pair of illuminateddirection indicators E and W while emergency switch control buttons INP,IRP, etc., call-on buttons CP, SCP, 8CP, and an illumination button EPare provided in two rows below the diagram.

In respect to the control of the direction indicators, the presentinvention is an improvement upon that disclosed in Letters Patent of theUnited States, No. 2,217,909, issued October l5, 1940, to C. H. Lay, forRailway traflic controlling apparatus.

In installations comprising a complicated track lay-out, the illuminatedtrack diagram may assume suchlarge dimensions as to make it inconvenientfor the signalman to set up a route by means of press buttons arrangedon this diagram in the manner illustrated in Figure 4. In such casesthese buttons are prefererably mounted on a desk of relatively smalldimensions having a ,simplified non-illuminated track diagramasillustrated in Figure 5, in which only the tracks are shown by blacklines and, apart from the buttons, onlytwo lamps indicatd ing thedirection for which a route is set up are provided. f

Figure 6 shows `the arrangements of the track switches, signals, andtrack relays, in their arrangement relative to the actual track lay-outand the control of track-repeater, switch control, switch locking andswitch indication relays, and itwshould be noted that the track repeaterrelays TP and switch locking relays LR are provided with delayed-rle'asev characteristics in order to f increase the safety of the system.

* period, when .any of the route press buttons 2-|2P, 8-2P, etc., ispressed and held down. It will thus be obvious that the pick-up circuitfor each route relay will be interrupted after a relatively short periodeither by the release of the associated route press button or, shouldtheA route press button be kept down by the signalman, owing to the factthat relay PP releases its armature thus interrupting the supply fromterminal B.

The release period of the relay PP is adjusted to be about one second,which is amply sufficient for permitting a route relay to be picked up.

It follows therefore that the buttons are not effective to control theroute relays unless they are operated at a time when the route relaysare responsive, that is to say, when the desired routes are available,and the buttons cease to be effective if held operated materially longerthan required.

Referring now to Figures 8, 8A, and 8B, illustrating the route circuitsfor the entrance-exit system, it will be seen that the setting up of aroute is effected in two steps, the first being the selection ci therequired route relay and the second the actual setting up of the route.The selection is effected by repeater relays R for the route-end buttonswhich control a directionselector relay SSE for the eastbound and SSWfor the westbound direction, direction-locking relays VSE and VSW beingalso provided.

The automatic interruption of the pick-up circuits of the route relayswhich is realised both in the case of the route control by a singlepressbutton as illustrated in Figure '7 and in the case or entrance-exitcontrol as illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, offers the great advantagethat no manual cancellation is required should accidentally thesignalman try t set up a route which would conflict with a route whichhas previously been set up and not yet dissolved by the passage of atrain or manual cancellation.

Referring now again to Figures 8A and SB and assuming that it isintended to set up an eastbound route from signal 4 to signal 8 viacrossover I reversed, the signalman will press in succession firstpress-button 4P and then pressbutton 8P.

On actuation of press button 4P the route-endbutton repeater relay 4R istemporarily energised through a circuit comprising terminal B, backcontact 30| of button-repeater relay IZR, front contact 302 of pressbutton 4P, Winding of relay 4R and return wire C.

Relay 4R when energised completes a circuit (Figure 8B) for energising aslow release direction-selector relay SSE, through a circuit includingterminal B, front contact 303 of relay 4R, back contact 304 ofdirection-locking relay VSE, Winding of direction-selector relay SSE,and return wire C. The energisation of relay SSE completes an obviouscircuit for the illumination of lamp LSE for the direction-indicator Eon the control panel, thus indicating that an eastbound route is beingset up.

At the same time direction locking relay VSW is energised over contact303 of relay 4R in an obvious manner so as to isolate the westbound slowrelease direction-selector relay SSW at its back Contact 3I4.

The picking up of the eastbound selector relay SSE completes a stickcircuit for buttonrepeater relay 4R (Figure 8A) from terminal B throughfront contact 306 of direction selector relay SSE, back contact 301 ofbutton-repeater relay 2R, front contact 308 of relay 4R, normal contact309 of press button 4P, Winding of relay 4R to return wire C.

The subsequent pressing of route-end button 8P will energise a repeaterrelay BR through front contact 3I0 of press button 8P, and this relay 8Rwill be held in its energised position through a circuit leading fromterminal B through front contact 306 of eastbound direction-selectorrelay SSE, front contact 3II of relay 8R, normally closed contact 3I2 ofpress button 8P, and winding of relay SR, to terminal C.

Front contact 3I3 (Figure 8B) of relay BR completes an obvious circuitfor the energisation of direction-locking relay VSE and, asdirection-locking relay VSW is picked up owing to the energisation ofrelay 4R, a second circuit for keeping relay VSW picked up isestablished through terminal B, front contact 3| 3 of relay BR, frontcontact 3I4 of relay VSW, second winding of relay VSW and terminal C.

The picking up of direction-locking relay VSE cuts the energisationcircuit of eastbound direction-selector relay SSE at back contact 304,

and relay SSE will thus drop after its release of the control systemwill' return to normal, and the direction indicator lamp LSE will beextinguished.

The time until direction-selector relay SSE drops will in practice bearranged to be about one second and a half. It will be evident from thedrawings that, should the signalman continue to press buttons 4P and 8P,direction-selector relay SSE will nevertheless be released while onlyrelays 4R, 8R, VSE and VSW will remain picked up. It may be remarkedthat one each oi the direction relays SSE, SSW, VSE and VSW willgenerally be sucient for the whole system except in very large andcomplicated track lay-outs.

During the time when relays 4R, BR, VSE and VSW are energised and relaySSE has not yet dropped, the route relay 4-81R will be energiseclthrough the following circuit; terminal B, iront contact SI5 ofdirection-locking relay VSE, front contact SIG of direction-lockingrelay VSW, front contact 3Il of switch locking relay SLR. front contact3I8 of switch locking relay ILR, front contact 3l9 of press-buttonrepeater relay 4R, iront contact 320 of approach-locking relay 4LS, backcontact 32| of press-button repeater relay IER., back contact 322 ofemergency-controlbutton repeater relay SRWS, front contact 323 of aswitch locking and route repeater relay 8LSP for approach-locking relaySLS and press-button repeater relay BR, front contact 324 ofapproachlocking relay IZLS, winding of relay 4-01R, and terminal C. Itwill, for example, be noticed in the case of the repeater relay 8LSP(Fig. 12) that this relay combines, in this particular case, theiunctions of approach-locking relay BLS and press-button repeater relayBR; thus the utilisation of a relay such as BLSP permits, which isdesirable in important station layouts, to obtain a substantial savingin the number of contacts employed in the route circuits. Had button I2instead of button 8 been pressed by the signalman in order to establisha route from 4 to I2,

'which forms part of the route from 4 to 8 via 1 crossover I reversed,route relay 4--I2R would have been energised in a similar manner througha circuit to that just traced from terminal B up to front contact 320 ofrelay 4LS and thence through front contact (instead of back contact) SZIo press-button repeater relay IZR, front contact 40I of aproach-lockingrelay BLS, back contact 325 of route relay 4-81R, winding relay A-I 2R,and terminal C.

Referring now again to the setting-up of the route from 4 to 8 via Ireversed= the picking up of route relay 4-81R completes another circuitfor the energisation of route relay 4-I2R which is identical with thecircuit for energising relail 4-81R up to front Contact 324 ofapproachlocking relay IZLS, then continuing through iront contact 325 ofrelay lil-81E and winding of relay lI-I 2R to terminal C.

A circuit is now completed for the energsation of the route relay IZ-BRcontrolling the second part of the route from 4 to 8 via I reversed.this circuit leading from terminal B through front contact 315 ofdirection-locking relay VSE, front contact 3I3 of direction-lockingrelay VSW, front Contact 326 of switch locking relay SLR, front Contact32'! of approach-locking relay IZLS, front contact 328 of relay 8LSP`front contact 329 of route relay 4-I2R, front Contact 330 ofapproach-locking relay lL-S, winding of relay IZ-SR to terminal C.

The two part route relays 4-I2R and IZ-BR in co-operation complete acircuit for vthe energis'ation of signal-preparation relay 4HR` which isidentical With the circuit for the energisation of relay 4|2R up tofront contact 325 of route relay 4-81R, after which it passes throughfront contact 33| of part-route relay 4|2R back contact 332 ofpreparation relay SHR of the opposing signal, front contact 333 of routerelay 4-31R, front Contact 334 of part-route relay |2-8R, back contact335 of route relay 4-85R for the alternative route, back contact 33E` ofthe conflicting route relay 4-lilR, front contact 331 of the eastbounddirection-selector relay SSE., front contact 333 of approach-lockingrelay 4LS, winding of relay 4HR and return Wire C.

A stick circuit for signal-preparation relay HRincludes terminal B,operating resistance 333, front contact 340 of track-repeater relay 1T?,normally closed contact 34| of press button tl?, front Contact 342 ofsignal-preparation relay AHR, front contact 331 of eastbound selectorrelay SSE., front contact 338 of approach-locking relay 4LS, Winding ofsignal preparation relay lil-iR, and return Wire C.

At the same time the picking up of relay iii-BR completes a pick-upcircuit for the signal-preparation relay iii-IR which is identical withthe energisation circuit of part-route relay |2-3R up to front contact330 of approachlocking relay v4LS, from which it leads through frontContact 343 of part-route relay |2-3R, back contact 344 ofsignal-preparation relay SHR. for the opposing signal, front contact 345of direction-selector relay SSE, front contact 346 of approach-lockingrelay IZLS, Winding of signalpreparation relay IZHR, and return wire C.The relay IZHR prepares its own stick circuit which leads from terminalB through resistance 341, iront contact 348 of track repeater relay 5TP,front contact 349 of route relay 4-81R, normally closed contact 350 ofpress button 4P, back con- I tact 35| cf the conilicting route relay2-8R,

front contact 352 of signal-preparation relay lLHR, front contact 345 oidirection-selector relay SSE, front contact 34B of approach-lockingrelay IELS, Winding of signal-preparation relay I'Zi-IR and return WireC.

Referring now to Figure l2 it will be seen that owing to the picking-upof the signal-preparation relays llHR and IZHR, the energisationcircuits of the approach locking relays 4LS and SZLS are cut at backcontacts 353 and 354 respectively of relays 4BR and |2HR, and theapproach-locking relays will therefore drop after their delay periodwhich is about 0.7 seconds.

Referring now again to Figure 8 it will be seen that the pick-upcircuits of route relays 4-8!R, 4|2R and |2-8R and of signal-preparationrelays 4l-IR and 12HR are now interrupted at front contacts 32|), 324,321, and 33D of approach locking relays 4LS and I2LS, but thesignal-preparation relays are held by the stick circuits alreadydescribed, and the route relays 4-31R, 4-|2R, and |2--8R are also held`hy stick circuits.

The stick circuit of route relay 4|2R includes terminal B resistance333, front Contact 340 of track repeater relay 1TP, normally closedcontact 34| of press button 4P, front contact 342 of signal preparationrelay 4HR, back contact 336 of conflicting route relay 4-IGR, backcontact 335 of the route relay 4-85R for the alternative route, frontcontact 334 of route relay |2--8R, front contact 333 of route relay4-B1R, back Contact 332 of the signal preparation relay accessi GHR forthe opposite direction, stick contact 33| of relay 4-.-|ZR, Winding ofthe relayA lll-IZR and return wire C, and the stick circuit of relay4-81R is identical except that from front contact 33| of relay 4|2R thecurrent goes through stick Contact 325 of relay 4-81R, and the Windingof the latter relay to return wire C; the stick circuit for the partroute relay |2-8R is identical with the previously described stickcircuit for the signal-preparation relay IZHR up to front contact 352 ofthe latter, from which the current passes through back contact 344 ofsignal preparation relay ill-IR for the 'opposite direction, frontcontact 343 of part route relay |2-8R, Winding of the latter relay toreturn Wire C.

Another stick circuit for the relay GHR has to be provided sincedirection-selector relay SSE drops after a short interval. This secondstick circuit for the signal preparation relay 4HR is provided by thefact that approach locking relay 4LS has been released in the abovedescribed manner, and is identical with the irst stick circuit of thesaine relay SHR as described further above up to iront Contact 342 ofthe relay BHR,

` from which point the current can now pass through back contact 338 ofapproach-locking relay 4LS, back contact 355 ci a direction detectorrelay TWSK, Winding of relay AZER- and return wire C.

The arrangement should oe suo-h that the two stick circuits for relayEHR overlapV in operation, that is to say the oi the release oi direcytion selector relay SSE should he suiilcient so that the latter relay isstill in its energised position in which its front contact 331 is closedwhen the second stick circuit for signal-preparation relay 4KB iscompleted.

The release of approach-locking relay si-A multaneously establishes anew circuit for signal-preparation relay EET-IR which is identical withthe above described rst stick circuit for the saine relay up to frontcontact 352 oi relay 2ER from which the current nds now a path throughback contact .trie of approach-locking relay MILS, back contact 355 ofdirection vdetector relay 5WSK, Winding ci relay RHR and return wire C,the establishment of thisstick circuit also overlapping with theenergisation oi relay iZl-lR through the 'first stick circuit whichincludes front contact 3135 of direction selector rela-y SSE.

The latter relay, as mentioned above, is released about one second andhalf after its eneigisation, after which time it will out the firststick circuit of` the relays lll-TR and iZlrR at its front contacts 333and 345, but the signal preparation relays SHR and l will remainenergised through their second stick circuits which have just beendescribed.

The fact that the second stick circuits rinclude back contacts oi theapproach-locking relays 4LS and |2LS provides an absolute guarantee thatthe operation has been `correctly carried out, as unless theapproach-locking relays 'iLS and FEL-S are de-energised, the secondstick circuit will not be completed, this' also providing an ad ditionalsafeguard that the route has been proprly protected. 4

Referring now to Figure 9, it will ce seen that the arrangement shown inVthis figure is generally similar to that shown in Figure 8 with theoliierence, however, that route relays with tivo windings are employedandthat the pick-up circuit for the signal prepara-tion relays does notincludes a contact of the direction detector relay. The operation issimilar in general to that just described and will be readily understoodfrom the drawings in connection with the foregoing description and thedescription of Figure of the main patent.

Referring now again to the circuits for the l switch machine et ceteraillustrated in Figure 6,

it will be seen that owing to the energisation of part route relay4--I2R, the polar switch control relay IWR is energised to its left-handposition through a circuit including terminal B, front contact 351 ofpart route relay 4-I 2R, back contact 358 of switch stick relay IRWS,front contact 359 of switch locking relay ILR, winding of relay IWR,front contact 360 of relay ILR, back contact 36| of switch stick relayINWS, back contact 362 of route relay 4--I 6R of a conflicting route,back contact 363 of the route relay 4-85R for the alternative route,back contact 364 of route relay Z-IZR of a conflicting route and returnwire C.

While in the main patent, according to Figure 4, the control circuit forthe switch machine included a neutral Contact of switch control relayIWR, according to the present invention this circuit is directlycontrolled by the polar contacts of this relay in order to permit theswitch machine to complete an operation once it is started, the controlcircuit of the motor comprising terminal B, polar contact 365 of relayIWR in its left-hand position, winding of the switch machine, polarcontact 366 of the relay IWR in its left-handposition, and return wireC.

The stick circuit of the switch control relay IWR is similar to thatdescribed in the main patent and includes a neutral contact of relayIWR, this circuit being closed when the electric interlocking becomeseffective, that is to say, after release of the switch locking relayILR.

In order to save contacts in the control of the signals (see Figureswitch correspondence l repeater relays NWPP, RWPP, are provided forrepeating the positions of the route relays requiring the track switchesto be normal and reverse respectively, and for also indicating therelease of switch lockingrelay LR, the energin sation of switch controlrelay WR and the fact that the switchesA are inthe reverse or normalposition corresponding to that of relay WR, the repeater relays beingarranged to combine the positions of these various relays. relays areshown in Figure 6 and it will, for example, be observed that theenergisation circuit for relay INWPP includes terminal B, one or theother of front contacts 364, 363 or 362 of route relays 2-I2R, 4-85R,and 4-IOR, that is to' say, for the routes which require that thecrossover switches I should be at normal, a back contact of relay ILR, afrontcontact of the normal indication relay INWP, winding of relay INWPPand terminal C. Similarly, a circuit for IRWPP includes terminal B,front contact 351 of route relay 4-I 2R, back contact 361 of relay ILR,neutral front contact 368 of relay IWR, front contact 369 of reverseindication relay IRWP, winding of relay IRWPP and return wire C.

The operation of the switches 3 and 5 is similar to that of switches Iand therefore need not be described in detail, but it may be mentionedthat switches 3 are reversed in order to protect the route when routerelay 4--I2R is energized.

As mentioned above, the locking relays LR are provided withdelayed-action characteristics, the period of time being about onesecond in picking up and' about .'7 second in releasing.

These repeater The delayed-pick-up feature has for its object to' affordprotection against a temporary mistake in switching and to counteractunlocking of the switches, while the delayed release feature permits, incase of faulty sections, the picking up of the route control withsuicient allowance, as is explained hereinafter in connection with Fig.15.

Referring again to Figure 8, it may now be assumed that the tracksection IT is o'ccupied or that switches I are locked in their normalposition when it is intended to establish a route from 4 to 8.

In this case, the energisation circuit of the relays 481R and 4-I2 isinterrupted at front contact 3I8 of relay ILR, and as the reverseindication relay IRWP isreleased, the points switches I are locked innormal position, for example, for a train passing from 2 to I2.

On the other hand, relay 4-85R will beenergised through a circuitcomprising terminal B, front contact 3I5 of direction-locking relay VSE,front contact 3 I 6 of direction-locking relay VSW, front contact 310 ofnormal indication relay INWP, front contact 31| of press-button relay4R, front contact 312 of' relay 3LR, front contact 313 of relay 5LB.,front contact 314 of approachlocking relay 4LS, front contact 315 ofapproachlocking and press-button repeater relay 8LSP, back contact 316of relay ILR, winding of relay 4-85R and return wire C.

Should the signalman desire to conduct a train from 4 to 8 overcrossover 5 at reverse, he may do so even when switches I are free to bereversed, by first placing switches 5 in their reverse position by theindividual control device ERP; in this case switch locking relay ILRwill, of course, be energised, but the pick-up circuit for relay 4-81Rwill be interrupted at back contact 322 of the individual switch controlrelay 5RWS, while back contact 316 of relay ILR in the pickup circuitfor relay 4-85R will be by-passed by front contact 311 of relay 5RWS.

The operation of the section locking relays will be clear from theillustration in Figure 13, the arrangement being similar to thatdescribed in the main patent with the modification that asection-cancelling contact 3A, 5A and 1A has been added so as to allow aroute to be established which includes a faulty section.

The `control of the direction-detector relays is shown in Figure 11. Theoperation is similar to that described in French patent app. No. 38,400,which corresponds with the United States Patent No. 2,156,766, issuedMay 2, 1939, to R. A. McCann, for Railway traiiic controlling apparatus.By comparison with Figure 10 of the said patent, it will be seen thattwo contacts of switch locking relays ILR and 5LR have been added inorder to prevent illuminated strips from y appearing on the trackdiagram before the route has actually been established.

The circuits for the approach-locking relays are indicated in Figure 12.The operation is similar to that described in the main patent withreference to Figure 9, with the following modifications: An approachlocking auxiliary relay 2AS, AAS, etc., has been added, the operation ofwhich is not subject to the energisation of associatedsignal-preparation relays 2I-IR, 4HR, etc., the energisation circuit ofthe approach-locking relay LS being substantially unaltered. The objectof this modification is to facilitate manoeuvring of a train'in thestation with the entrance and exit signals at stop A repeater relay forthe relays LS andR is Iurther'preierably employed in complicated layoutsin order to reduce in Figure 6 of the main patent will be observed:

The correspondence relays NWPP and RWPP which are also repeaters of theroute relays, switch locking relays,A etc., as described above withreference to Figure 6, are interposed in the signal network` circuit,and the approach-locking relays LS are replaced by otherapproach-locking auxiliary relays AS, the operation `of which is,

however, asr shown in Figure 12, subject to substantially the sameconditions as that of the latter, except for the omission of one backcontact of the signal-preparation relay HR, these mod ications havingalso for their object to facilitate operations in a station.

Referring now to the illuminated diagram, it will be found from Fig. 19that at the energisation lof, the press-button repeater relay 4R, andthe directionfselector relay SSE, the signal indicator at location 4 onthe panel of Fig. 4 becomes illuminated in red by the lighting of lamp Rof indicator AAK, which has for its object to indicate the beginning ofa route selection in order to avoid errors or investigations if thesignalman should fail to remember which button he has pressed.

s .The following further modications have been made in the circuits forthe illumination of the panel:

In Figure 1S, which relates to the single routebutton system, theinterrupter relay CT operating in the manner of va bell, has beenreplaced by a pulsator device; in Figure 19, which relates to thetwo-press-button system, the operation is similar to that described withreference to Figure of the main patent and 18 of the presentspecication, but contacts of the direction-selector relays SSE and SSWand of the pressbutton relaysv R have been added, which, however, do notsubstantially alter the principal ideas of the signal indication orchecking circuits, so that no specific description will be required.

Figure 20 only differs from the system illustrated Ain Figure 16 of themain patent .in that an intermittent illumination is utilised forindicating when a track switch is in an intermediate position or duringthe operation when both the normal and reverse switch indication relaysare down, in a manner already described in the specification of theMcCann patent hereinbefore referred to. The operation of theintermediate circuits need not be described because it is substantiallyidentical tothat described with reference to Figure 16 of the mainpatent.

The manual cancellation of a route is effected in the same manner as inthe UR system, described in French Patent No. 829,857, which correspondswith Letters Patent of the United States, No. 2,244,401, issued June 3,1941, to J. M. Pelikan, for Railway trailic controlling apparatus, andthe operation is the same as that described in the Caille and Laze'system, that is to say, in the main patent. In the speciiication of themain patent will be found a detailed description of' what happens when atrain passes through the route from II` to 8 via the crossover I atreverse which has been prepared in the manner previously described. Thespecication of the main patent describes also in detail theestablishment of the route portions from 4 to I2 and I2 to 8, and thisdescription is also applicable to the present system.

Ii it is desired to establish a permanent route in the two-Press-buttonsystem illustrated in Figure 8, the signalman first establishes theordinary route, route 2.-8, for example, in a manner similar to thatdescribed above, and then presses the permanent-route-button 2-8DP (Fig.4 or Fig. 5) to energise the corresponding permanent route relay 2-8DR,Fig. 8. Owing to the provision of a Contact of the permanent-routerelay, such vas l-SDR which bridges the front contact or' trackrepeaterrelay ITP, the permanent route when once established will remain sountil it is manually cancelled. This manual cancellation may be effectedin either of two ways, one consisting in pulling the permanent-routebutton, and the other in pulling the normal route-.entrance button. Inthe first case the stick circuit of the operated permanentfroute relayDR is interrupted so that the latter relay drops, and it will be evidentthat, no other part of the route control system being affected, theroute will be mainn tained until another train has passed through it. Inthe second case, however, both the normal route and its permanentmaintenance is destroyed so that the route is cancelled at once, as willbe evident from Figure 8 of the drawings.

Figure 14 shows the circuits for the cancelling or the renderingineective of the track relays for a faulty section, for the single routebutton system. The general arrangement of the circuits is described withreference to Figure ll of the main patent, but a normally closed Contactof the sectionfcancelling button IAP, etc., has been included inr theStick circuit of the section can celling relay IA, 3A, etc., so as toallow the annulment of the cancellation by pulling thesection-cancelling button.

Figure 15 shows a corresponding circuit for a system in which routes areset up by the operation of two route-.end` buttons. In this case, theback contacts ofthe route relays 4-8R, i-IIR, etc., have been replacedby back contacts of the directiondocking relays, in order to permit thestick circuits of the cancelling relays to be interrupted on selectionof a route. It should be noticed that the` cancelling relays IA, 3A,etc.,

lwhen dropping, interrupt the energisation of the switch locking relaysLR, Fig. 6, but as mentioned above, the latter are suiiciently delayedto allow setting up of the route.

The call-on operation (see Figure 17) differs zfrom that described withreference to Figure le of the main patent in the following respects:

The stick circuit of the call-on relays SCGS or ECOS does not include afront contact o f the high-,speedesignal checking relay GP, which isalso of advantage in View of the4 above mentioned conditions.

In certain installations it is desirable that one should bel ableV to.carry out local switching operations within the section between theentrance and eXit signals; forl example, a train may pass signal III,entering the route from I0 to 4, and stop on the, track circuit 1T afterhaving cleared the track circuit 3T; and it :nay-- be desired to returnthe trainpover thejswitches- 5 at reverse in the direction'. towards.signal 8, that is; to say.

to run through part of the route from 4 to 8 via 5 reversed.

When the train stops on section 1, the route relay 4--IOR and thesignal-preparation relay WHR are dropped. As the track circuit 3T isoccupied, the signal IU is kept at stop by the deenergisation ofhigh-speed-signal relay IUBG (Figure and signal-at-stop checking relayIUGP and approach-locking relay lLS are reenergised (Figures 23 and 12).

When the track circuit 3T is cleared, the direction-detector relay SWSKis released (Figure 11) and the section locking relay 3WS is reenergised(Figure 13). Switch locking relays 3LR and 5LR are also re-energised(Figure 6) so that the switches 3 and 5 are free to be operated and arein their normal positions.

On the other hand, the track circuit 1T is still occupied, the directiondetector relay 1WSK being kept energised through its stick circuit whichincludes a back contact of track relay 1TR. The section locking relay1ES is also kept up through a stick circuit comprising a front contactof direction-detector relay 'IWSK (Figure 13). The switches l are stilllocked in their normal position owing to the released condition oftrackrepeater relay 1TP. On the illuminated track diagram the sectionpanels 1K and yIBNK are illuminated in red and all the signal indicatorsare extinguished under this condition. The signalman presses firstbutton 4P and then button 8P, when the switches I are at normal. Theenergisation of switch indication relay INWP will permit theenergisation of route relay 4-85R, although switch locking relay ILR isdeenergised (Figure 8) and signal-preparation relay 4I1R will also beenergised through the same circuit and will energize thedirectiondetector relay lESK (Figure l1).

The route-setting system will remain energised for a sufficient time topermit the operation of switch control relays 3WR and SWR to the newposition (switch control relay IWR is already in its normal position andis isolated by the fact that switch locking relay ILR is released).Switch 3 is already at normal and need not be operated.

After its delay period, the approach-locking relay IiLS is released andsignal-preparation relay IHR is also released, since its stick circuitis cut at the back contact 355 of direction-detector relay lWSK which isenergised (Figure 8). The de-energisation of signal-preparation relay4HR cuts the stick circuit of route relay 4-85R` so that the route iscancelled with the points in their correct positions. The release ofapproach-locking relay ALS has also cut the energisation circuit ofsection locking relay IES as illustrated in Figure 13, which latterrelay in its course has de-energised switch locking rela-ys 3LR and SLR(Figure 6) as switch indication relay IRWP is released, switches l beingat normal, so that switches 3 and 5 are now locked. Approachlockingrelay ILS has confirmed the de-energisation of switch locking relay ILR.Directiondetector relay 1ESK energises the directiondetector relay 3ESK(Figure 11) which, on its part, energises direction-detector relay 5ESK.On the illuminated track diagram the section panels 1K and IBNK arestill illuminated in red, whereas the release of the signal-preparationrelay 4HR. extinguishes the red indication of the signal indicator 4K.The route indicating sections BNK, 3K, v5RK and 5K are illuminated inwhite. The signal-clearing relay IDG for the entrance signal is notenergised, since trackrepeater relay lTP is released and accordingly thesignal 4 is not cleared and protects the train. If the train now goesback and enters the track circuit 3T, a new stick circuit fordirectiondetector relay 3ESK is prepared through a back contact of relay3TR (Figure 11), the deenergisation of relays 3LR and 5LR is conrmed bythe de-energisation of track-repeater relay 3TP (Figure 6). The sectionlocking relay SWS is not released because direction-detector relay 3ESKis energised. On the illuminated diagram, the sections 3NK, 3K and SRKturn from white to red. The train now clears the track circuit 1T,whereupon the direction-detector relays 'IWSK and 'IESK are released,the condition being thus the same as if the signal had been passed andthe route normally traversed, section locking relay 'IES is energisedagain (Figure 13), and switch locking relay ILR is also re-energised(Figure 6), and unlocks the switches I. On the other hand, switchlocking relays 3LR and SLR remain released, track-repeater relay 3TP isstill released and direction-detector relays 3ESK and 5ESK remainenergised. On the illuminated diagram, the sections 1K and IBNK areextinguished. Now the train enters track section 5T, clears tracksection 3T and nally clears track section 5T, in the usual manner,effecting the sectional release and giving the normal indications on theilluminated track diagram.

Figure 24 shows a modication which has for its object to give protectionagainst bad shuntage of track circuits according to this system, there-energisation of the track circuits is made subject to a check that nobad shunting has taken place while the track circuit was occupied.

When, for example, track circuit 1T is cleared by an east-bound train,the re-energisation of track-repeater relay 'ITP is made subject to acheck that direction-detector relay 3ESK is still energised (switches lbeing at normal). If there has been no proper shunting, the route shouldnot be cancelled and the switches should remain locked. If the shuntagetakes place (Figure 11), the direction-detector relay 'IESK is kept upthrough a back contact of track relay ITR. On the other hand, if, withthe switches i at normal, there is a faulty shuntage before section 3 isentered, the direction-detector relay 'IESK is released and causes therelease of directiondetector relay 3ESK. It will be seen from Figure 24that, if zone 1T is cleared with directiondetector relay 3ESK in itsrelease position, the track repeater relay 'ITP will not bere-energized.

After the passage of a train, normal conditions may be re-established bycancelling section 1T by means of the section-cancelling button TAP. Itwill b e noticed that track-repeater relay ITP locks the track switchesconcerned, and accordingly in the present example, switches i, 3 and 5will be kept locked by the cie-energisation of track repeater relay 1TP.

In station layouts in which non-continuous track circuits are employed,the arrangement shown in Figures 25, 25A, 25B and 25C may be usefullyemployed. In this system there are two track circuits, 2T and 4T, at theentrance and exit of the station, while the intermediate section oftrack does not form part of a track circuit. The system operates in thefollowing manner:

When the route relay and signal-preparation relay such as 2-4R and ZHRare energised (Figure 25A), for example by a route-control-button 2--41as in the system of the main patent, a

passage-storing .relayV 4EPS is cle-energized and cuts the energisaticncircuit of af locking relay 4LR, the principal object of whichk is to.deenergize a switch locking relay ILR as illustrated in Figure 25C.W'hen the train enters the layout in the east-bound direction, the trackrelay ZTR at the entrance will be released and cut a stick circuit ofroute and signal relaysl 2-4R and ZHR (the corresponding circuits beingnot illustrated as they are identical with those of the main patent),and the entrance. signal will be put to stop 'I'he switches l are stilllocked, since the locking relay lLR is still released. The train thenclears section 2T and traverses the section which is` not provided witha track circuit and in which the track switches are located. Finally itwill reach and` enter the section 4T, thus re-energising thepassage-storing relay AEPS through a circuit including terminal B,

back contact of route relay 2-4 R, back contact f of track relay QTR,winding of passage-storing relay 4EPS and terminal C. Switches I are,however, still locked, since locking relay #LR is kept released owing tothe fact that track relay ATR is released. When nally the train clearssection 4T, track relay dTR is re-energised and completes the circuitfor the energisation of locking relay @LR from terminal B through backContact of signal relay 2HE, front contact of passage storing relay4EPS, front contact of track relay ISTR, winding of relay d LR toterminal C'. Both locking relays ZLR and 4LR being now energised, switchlocking relay LRI will also be energised, as will be obvious from Figure25C.

It will be evident that although only a very simple layout has beendescribed, this feature may correspondingly be applied to thearrangements in an important station.

In general, numerous modifications of detail may be made in the systemsdescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the present invention. More particluarly itis pointed out that the very limited number of line wires in systemsaccording to the present invention, both in the single-button andentrance-exit systems, permits the transfer of control arrangements bymeans of a suitable change-over switch to a protected safety position.This may be important as an air raid precaution, since the relays maythen be accommodated in a protected position in a suitable undergroundor other shelter.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. In an interlocking control system for a track y layout includingtrack switches operable to form different traffic routes, route buttons:for selecting said routes, a route circuit for each route each closedin response to the operation of one or more route buttons identifyingthe corresponding route, route relays initially energised over saidroute circuits and arranged to be held energised independently of theoperated route buttons until cancelled, for establishing said routes,and timing means eifective to interrupt said route circuits in the eventsaid buttons are held operated for a predetermined period.

2. In an interlocking control system for a track layout including trackswitches operable to form different trailic routes, route buttons forselecting said routes, a route circuit for each route each closed inresponse to the operation of one or more route buttons identifying thecorresponding route, route relays initially energised over `said routecircuits and arranged to be held energised independently of theoperatedroute buttons until cancelled, for establishing said routes,contacts controlled by coniiicting route relays included in said routecircuits to prevent the energisation of route relays for non-availableroutes, and timing means rendering each route circuit responsive to theoperation of the corresponding button for a predetermined period onlyfollowing the operation of such button.

3. In an interlocking control system for a track layout including trackswitches operable to form different titanic routes, an individual routebutton for each route, each provided with a plurality of movablecontacts, a plurality of electrically interlocked route relays forcontrolling the track switches as required to establish said differentroutes, a normally energised slow release relay, a circuit for said slowrelease relay including normally closed contacts of all said routebuttons, an energising circuit for each route relay including a normallyopen contact of an associated route button and a front contact of saidslow release relay, and a holding circuit for each route relay includinga normally closed manually operable contact.

4.. In an interlocking control system for a track layout including trackswitches operable to form different traino routes, a route button foreach'route` end at each end, of said layout, two slow releasedirectional relays, one for each end of the layout, a circuit closed inresponse to the operation of the first of two buttons associated withopposite ends of a desired route through said layout for energising theslow release relay for the corresponding end of the layout, route relaymeans for each route effective when energised to establish thecorresponding route through said layout, means for opening the circuitfor said energized slow release relay in response to a subsequentoperation of the second of said two buttons and at the same timecompleting a selected circuit controlled jointly by said two buttons forenergising the route relay means for the desired route only as long assaid slow release relay remains picked up and only if such route is thenavailable, and means independent of said route buttons for maintainingthe selected route relay means energised to maintain the correspondingroute established until cancelled.

5. In combination, a track layout including track switches operable toform dirlerent traiiic routes, two slow release directional relays, onefor each end of the layout, a route .button for each route end, arepeater relay for each button having a pick-up circuit closed wheneversuch button is operated, a circuit closed when the repeater relay forthefirst of two buttons associated with opposite ends ci a desired routethrough said layout is picked up, to energise the directional relay forthe same end oi the layout, a stick circuit for each repeater relayclosed when that relay is picked up as long as either directional relayis picked up, electroresponsive route establishingmeans for each route,means effective when the repeating relay for the second of said twobuttons to be operated is picked up to open the circuit for saidenergised directional relay, and a route circuit controlled jointly bysaidtwo repeating relays closed during the release period of saiddirectional relay for energising the route establishing means for thecorresponding route to establish that route.

6. In combination, a track layout including

